In downtown skokie a new latin restaurant called Libertad should be opening this week. From the menu looks to be upscale Latin cuisine with not such a upscale price point. Info on the menu and restaurant can be found here: http://www.libertad7931.com/

Article on Libertad: http://skokie.suntimes.com/news/6076238 ... grant.html

"Skokie resident Marcos Rivera, the proprietor of the new Latin eatery, is the son of the founder of Las Palmas, a chain of Mexican restaurants in the Chicago area.

Rivera promised “global dining with a Latin twist” for the new restaurant. He has been manager of the flagship Las Palmas in Wicker Park in Chicago since 2002.

Although much of the cuisine will be based on foods from Central and South America, Rivera said ingredients will not be confined to one region."

Libertad
7931 Lincoln Ave,
Skokie, IL 60077
847.674.8100

Hours
Tues - Thurs: 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Fri - Sun: 5:00 pm - 12:00 am

Panther in the Den wrote:It appears that the Berwyn/Cicero area is a Mecca for my beloved deep fried taco's (ala Jack in a Box) and I have been working through the area hot dog stands.

And of course if you're near neither Jack in the Box or the Berwyn / Cicero area, Burger King has 2 deep-fried tacos for 99 cents on the menu, too. Slightly different than Jack's but same concept.

(by the way...I was surprised that Jack in the Box no longer sells the Monster Taco. Fortunately, the "2 Tacos" are the same thing, but smaller)

jhawk1 wrote:I would just like to say that this deal is not completely done yet. I am working with a group of folks to acquire the Ravenswood Pub. Did not know this was public knowledge yet but tis the age we live in. Will be glad to update as the deal progressses. We are excited about doing some upgrades and adding a kitchen. Thanks Danny

I'm sure this can be discussed further if the deal actually goes down, but...

I love Toons and I am all for this, but please don't let anything change with the sponsorship of Chicago Kickball league. My favorite part of the work week during the summer is Wednesday nights, after kicking the shit out of some balls, going to Ravenswood Pub for some buckets of beer and an ever revolving buffet of food for dinner. If all stayed the same and the food was upgraded to Toons level....wow...that would be amazing.

But yeah, I love the dive-y feel of this place and hanging out on the back 'patio'. I feel like I'm hanging out in my grandma's driveway.

Sometime in the beginning of August another new BBQ joint opened in Robbins (just down the street from Cole's Family BBQ), "Bobby's Smoke Shack." I usually ride my bike along this stretch of Claire Blvd several times a week but my bike was stolen toward the end of July and I only recently replaced it so while I've smelled hickory smoke* riding by this location before they opened, I was not aware until recently that they had put up signage and officially opened. I have not been able to stop in and try the Q but it smells pretty good going by.





Bobby's Smoke Shack
13830 S Claire Blvd
Robbins, IL 60472-2038

* smelled like hickory smoke to me, but I have not verified the type of cooker or anything about their method.

I have been reading and lurking on this forum for quite a while so I finally decided to actually join.

I don't think this one has been posted but Dolce located at 4114 N Kedzie is no longer open. Phone has been disconnected. Website is taken down. Wondered about this place as I drive by almost every single day and earlier this year there had been a sign on the window saying there would be upgrades/renovations not sure which. Then the sign disappeared and nothing after that. Looks like it has been shut down for a while.

Also a friend who lives just around the corner from Scott's Hamburger Heaven at 1546 W 35th street says it is now closed with a For Rent sign in the window as of sometime last week.

HI,

Do you happen to know how long Scott's was in business? Just by the name it strongly suggests it is a knock off of Kevin's Hamburger Heaven, which is a longstanding institution.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

Do you happen to know how long Scott's was in business? Just by the name it strongly suggests it is a knock off of Kevin's Hamburger Heaven, which is a longstanding institution.

Regards,

Don't know how long but I heard that Scott is Kevin's son.

Central St Cafe in Evanston is now open, we had dinner there early Saturday evening.

The appetizers and Salads are very good with quality ingredients especially the cheeses and cured meats. For entrees my wife had the skirt steak which came with a potato gratin , her skirt steak was cooked perfectly (rare) and had good flavor, the potato gratin needs work, way to liquid and not creamy. I had the Salmon with fennel and bacon lentils, the bacon lentils were great and I liked the roasted fennel with the dish.

They have a retail section that offers cheeses and specialty food items and wines and craft beers to go. You can choose a bottle of wine to have at the table with your meal, for a full bottle the corkage fee is $8. Wines by-the-glass and a variety of craft beers are also available. The wines are very reasonably priced so even with the $8 corkage fee it is no more expensive then ordering a wine off a restaurant menu.

Definitely going back to try more of the menu and wine selections.


Central St Café
2800 Central
Evanston, IL
847-864-4444

HI,

Do you happen to know how long Scott's was in business? Just by the name it strongly suggests it is a knock off of Kevin's Hamburger Heaven, which is a longstanding institution.

Regards,

Not sure how long Scott's was in business but from the friend who lives in the neighborhood who always enjoyed the 24 hour truck stop place said that Scott and Kevin were once partners and they split up and split the locations between them. My only regret is never getting to actually eat there.

LAZ wrote:

Dave148 wrote:

alisonmackenzie wrote:Word is that Ben Pao is closing on September 10th. Apparently will morph into another LEYE enterprise.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/649949 ... oming.html

I hope they don't turn it into something like Tokio Pub. I always liked Ben Pao, but it seemed to fly under the radar.

Giuliana and Bill Rancic opening Italian restaurant in Chicago.The stars of Style Network's "Giuliana and Bill" will team up with Lettuce Entertain You's RJ, Jerrod and Molly Melman on the restaurant, which will take over the space currently occupied by Ben Pao. http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertain ... wrap-82911

Oh, Christ.

Dave148 wrote:Giuliana and Bill Rancic opening Italian restaurant in Chicago.The stars of Style Network's "Giuliana and Bill" will team up with Lettuce Entertain You's RJ, Jerrod and Molly Melman on the restaurant, which will take over the space currently occupied by Ben Pao. http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertain ... wrap-82911

Considering Giuliana looks like she hasn't eaten in about 4 years, this is quite a surprise. I'm guessing the ladies room will double as a vomitorium.

=R=

Restaurant odor - TBD

Prince Creperie 4645 N. Kedzie, which was open for all of 8 months, is closed. Their website is down and a call confirmed this. For those of you still holding Groupons, make sure you file a return.

KajmacJohnson wrote:

Do you happen to know how long Scott's was in business? Just by the name it strongly suggests it is a knock off of Kevin's Hamburger Heaven, which is a longstanding institution.

Not sure how long Scott's was in business but from the friend who lives in the neighborhood who always enjoyed the 24 hour truck stop place said that Scott and Kevin were once partners and they split up and split the locations between them. My only regret is never getting to actually eat there.

You'll find the answer in the Scott's (and Kevin's) Hamburger Heaven thread: the Kevin's on 35th changed its name to Scott's in early 2005. It's my understanding that Scott is Kevin's son.

Hamburger Heaven Express on Archer may be run by Scott. At least some of the employees wear Scott's Hamburger Heaven T-shirts. HHE has expanded their menu and is now open 24 hours a day. The burgers are similar to and the fries are better than they were on 35th Street. No indoor seating. The two Kevin's Heavens seem to be operating as usual.

Scott's Hamburger Heaven (closed)
1546 W 35th St
Chicago
773-890-1042

Hamburger Heaven Express
3001 S Archer Av
Chicago
773-801-0012

Kevin's Hamburger Heaven
554 W Pershing Rd
Chicago
773-924-5771

Kevin's Hamburger Heaven
4056 S Western Av
Chicago
773-847-4947

Prince Creperie 4645 N. Kedzie, which was open for all of 8 months, is closed. Their website is down and a call confirmed this. For those of you still holding Groupons, make sure you file a return.

I pass by fairly often although not daily as before and this space has a few things just a few short years and none of them lasted more than several months. I recall it being a coffee shop who's name escapes me that I stopped once and had a decent cup but just never went back. After that it was I think a Mexican place. Then Prince Creperie just seems so blink and you missed it brief.

Just saw a banner up at Ba Le announcing that a Chinatown location is opening soon.

I hope you mean Chinatown New York. Cause I haven't had a perfect Banh Mi in a while.

Habibi wrote:I hope you mean Chinatown New York. Cause I haven't had a perfect Banh Mi in a while.

I just listened to an episode of This American Life that began with a story about Bahn Mi places in Brooklyn that all have the exact same menu (literally). It's actually quite funny. I don't know if any of these places are any good. But the show is worth a listen: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-a ... ollar-idea

chgoeditor wrote:Just saw a banner up at Ba Le announcing that a Chinatown location is opening soon.

I think I saw the under-construction storefront on Archer, in between Pheonix and Mandarin Kitchen.

-Dan

A week ago we had a flyer on the doorstep saying Broken Plate soon to be Kimberli Sushi with new management. Broken Plate replaced a Greek old men's coffee shop in January and never caught on. Kimberli Sushi appears to be open now. Hours on sign in window are 4 pm to 2 am all seven days. Hours on flyer say starting at noon Monday through Saturday. Since they were not open around 1 this afternoon, I would go with the sign in window. Another sign in window has 1/2 price sushi as a grand opening special.

The menu is a very extensive mishmash of Japanese, Thai and a few Chinese dishes in addition to sushi. Doing a good job across such a diverse menu strikes me as an extreme challenge.

The exterior signage is still for Broken Plate. The storefronts are between Paprika and Azur Meat Market in the little strip mall set back from Lawrence Avenue.

Kimberli Sushi
2547-B W. Lawrence Ave.
Chicago 60625
Phone 773-942-7351
Fax 773-516-4973

I walked by La Sera, my favorite Ethiopian/Turkish hybrid cafe over the weekend and found the name covered up, paper up on the windows, and the ominous yet unrevealing "Coming Soon" sign up on the door. It's a pity because it was such a cool place to hang out or work, not to mention the only restaurant south of Lawrence where you could get a credibly spicy tibs, and Ethiopian coffee (or on the other hand, a hummus and Julius Meinl chaser) - interesting enough to walk up from the tourist-friendly wasteland of Streeterville often. Its cultural mix will be missed if they're gone for good.

La Sera
1143 N. Wells St.
312-274-0442

The Schaumburg Chick Fil A location is opening Sept. 15th. It's on Golf Rd right near the REI (if I am not mistaken)

sdrucker wrote:I walked by La Sera, my favorite Ethiopian/Turkish hybrid cafe over the weekend and found the name covered up, paper up on the windows, and the ominous yet unrevealing "Coming Soon" sign up on the door.

An Ethiopian/Turkish hybrid? Thats a bizarre combination of cusines.

theskinnyduck wrote:

sdrucker wrote:I walked by La Sera, my favorite Ethiopian/Turkish hybrid cafe over the weekend and found the name covered up, paper up on the windows, and the ominous yet unrevealing "Coming Soon" sign up on the door.

An Ethiopian/Turkish hybrid? Thats a bizarre combination of cusines.

It's not fusion cuisine; more like a menu that had some dishes from both countries, as well as a fair amount of general American urban cafe sandwiches and salads. You could get hummus, and a tibs wrap; not tibs with hummus inside (probably a good thing) . But if you wanted to have a choice between Ethiopian kinche and ful for breakfast were in the right palce.

theskinnyduck wrote:An Ethiopian/Turkish hybrid? Thats a bizarre combination of cusines.

I have friends, here in the city limits, who have children that are of Puerto Rican, and mainland Chinese descent. Where there's spanish and mandarin being spoken at their holiday gatherings.

We're in Chicago, and it's 2011.

theskinnyduck wrote:
An Ethiopian/Turkish hybrid? Thats a bizarre combination of cusines.


I have friends, here in the city limits, who have children that are of Puerto Rican, and mainland Chinese descent. Where there's spanish and mandarin being spoken at their holiday gatherings.

We're in Chicago, and it's 2011.

What do your friends' kids' backgrounds have to do with the fact that Ethiopian/Turkish is a bizarre combination?

MikeL wrote:

theskinnyduck wrote:
An Ethiopian/Turkish hybrid? Thats a bizarre combination of cusines.


I have friends, here in the city limits, who have children that are of Puerto Rican, and mainland Chinese descent. Where there's spanish and mandarin being spoken at their holiday gatherings.

We're in Chicago, and it's 2011.

What do your friends' kids' backgrounds have to do with the fact that Ethiopian/Turkish is a bizarre combination?

You seemed to have missed my second sentence.

Within 5 blocks of here there's a guy who sells Syrian Halal food, alongside, with Mexican dishes and Greek food, all coming off two different stoves at Lawrence and Milwaukee Ave.

That's three countries of origin. Not just two.

There is some sort of seafood place opening in Lakeview called New England Seafood Company. It is located on Lincoln, just north of School (next to Dinkel's Bakery). I'm not sure if it's just a place for fresh seafood or if they will have sandwiches as well. It opens tonight (Sept 7), I may try to stop by tonight and see what the deal is.

kenji wrote:

theskinnyduck wrote:An Ethiopian/Turkish hybrid? Thats a bizarre combination of cusines.

I have friends, here in the city limits, who have children that are of Puerto Rican, and mainland Chinese descent. Where there's spanish and mandarin being spoken at their holiday gatherings.

We're in Chicago, and it's 2011.

Not just Chicago. Ask somebody growing up in the Near North suburbs in the 1970's what are the odds would be that in 2011, you'd be able to buy Korean pizza:
Cheo Ga Jip Pizza and Chicken
8273 W Golf Rd
Niles, IL 60714
(847) 583-1582